## AND A MEMORANDUM TO GLAVUGOL

... during the course of four months after the mines were abandoned by the Whites, not only has nothing been done to increase coal reserves in open-pit and underground workings, but owing to the inexperience of those in charge, the reserves which constitute the principal sources of extraction will be completely exhausted within the next one or two months, and I consider it impossible to reduce underground operations to the required productivity of 1500 thousand [puds] per month. Furthermore, nothing has been done even for the most primitive equipment of open-pit workings, the construction of housing for workers, the provision of necessary clothing for them, as well as fodder for horses, which could be accomplished here without special difficulty. The technical and administrative personnel of the Chelyabinsk district has until recently consisted of three young Urals-based shaft-workers with very limited experience, and only by order of the Uralo-Siberian Commission around the 20th of this December was engineer Yakovlev, sent by NKPS, assigned to join them. Turning to the facts, I note: coal concealed in the overburden amounts to 3000 thousand puds remaining. ... the district administration has drawn up estimates for uncovering 25 million puds of coal in the coming year by overburden removal, which will require the extraction of 135 thousand cubic sazhens of rock or daily 900 cubic sazhens; the performance of such work will require excavators with a capacity of 150 cubic sazhens per day, together with brigades and engineers well versed in the organization of excavation. On site there are 4 excavators with a total capacity of 450 cubic sazhens per day; there is need for one more engineer-builder, one coal mining engineer...

NB to Glavugol: I request you return this to me w i t h a r e p o r t on what has been done to provide assistance from here.

Lenin

Written January 4, 1920

First published in 1933

in Lenin Collection XXIV

Printed from the manuscript